Camera-processors are marketed for the production of stats for use in various fields, such as advertising. A particular camera-processor, such as the "Itek" 430 unit, employs an illuminated copyboard having copy positioned thereon, which is imaged by a projection lens system upon a first imaging plane for exposing various types of film. A mirror may be actuated to cause the copy upon the copyboard to be projected and focused upon a second imaging plane having a ground glass viewing screen, so that the image to be focused upon the film may be viewed by the operator before such exposure. The viewing screen is surrounded by a light shield, and thus is recessed within the body of the machine owing to the light shield which improves the contrast of the image viewed by the operator upon the viewing screen in daylight.
It is believed that a considerable market exists for the use of instant film, such as "Polaroid" Land Film, so that excellent color stats may be rapidly produced in addition to the stats developed in the processor, which are of the non-instant variety processed by wet chemicals. The above-mentioned 430 camera-processor manufactured by Itek Corporation is somewhat unusual in that it has a first and second imaging plane, wherein the first imaging plane is used to expose conventional wet-process film to make stats, and the second imaging plane contains a ground glass viewing screen for viewing the copyboard images before making the stats.
A need existed to provide a camera back means which could be positioned at the second imaging plane and be loaded and unloaded in the daylight with instant Land film for recording the images normally just viewed by the operator. This problem was complicated by the fact that the viewing screen is indented into the body of the camera-processor, owing to the need to shield the viewing screen from ambient light to prevent image washout. Should a camera back means be maintained at the second imaging plane, the dark slide within the conventional 8".times.10" Land film holder could not be substantially separated from the camera back to expose the film due to the blocking action of the walls of the light shield. One solution to this problem would be to orient the camera back so that the dark slide may be substantially separated from the film holder by pulling it downwardly through an aperture formed within the lower portion of the light shield. The cutting out of such an aperture would make it difficult to modify camera-processors already in the field to permit customers to take advantage of the use of instant film. A second solution to this problem would be to employ a conventionally opened bellows to enable the camera back to be pulled outwardly toward the operator in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the viewing screen. Such a solution would require tracks, ways, or the like, for supporting the camera back, and which would extend outwardly toward the operator. The use of such tracks are asthetically undesirable, and would otherwise complicate the design of the device, might increase the time required to mount the color back adaptor and remove it when it is desired to use the camera-processor in the conventional mode, that is, when a viewing screen is placed at the second imaging plane.